Iraqi forces in anti-militant offensive

2014-06-23 329

PLEASE NOTE: EDIT CONTAINS MATERIAL THAT WAS ORIGINALLY 4:3

Iraqi troops in action 90 kilometres north of Baghdad as they try to stop the rapid advance of radical Sunni militants.

The Iraqi army carried out house-to-house searches in Udhaim.

Defence Ministry video shows soldiers seizing what it said was bomb-making equipment and chemical weapons materials.

Residents interviewed in the video appeared to welcome the army presence.

(SOUNDBITE)(Arabic) LOCAL RESIDENT SAYING:

"The army personnel are brave and it's great to have them here."

(SOUNDBITE)(Arabic) LOCAL RESIDENT SAYING:

"The army protects us and we can't do anything without them."

More Defence Ministry footage shows Iraqi air strikes on militant positions in Mosul.

The militants, from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, have captured large areas of land in the north and west of Iraq.

They're seeking to create and Islamic caliphate spanning parts of Iraq and